Breda 30
|image= |origin=Italy |manufact=Breda |maker= |design=1930 |birth=1930 |death=1945 |type=Light machine gun |caliber=6.5x52mm Mannlicher-Carcano |action=Recoil |length=123 cm (48.43 inches) |barrel=45 cm (17.7 inches) |weight=10.6 kg (23.4 pounds) |justweight= |height= |magazine=20 round non-detachable box magazine |cycle=500 RPM |range= |usedby=Italy Nazi Germany Greece Yugoslavia }} The Fucile Mitragliatore Breda modello 30, or Breda 30, is a WW2-era Italian light machine gun. It was called the MG 099(i) in German service. It is widely regarded as one of the worst light machine guns ever made. History The Breda 30 was the standard light machine gun used by the Italian army during the 1930s and 1940s. The Breda was one of the more common sights on the Italian battlefield, along with Carcanos, Glisentis and Berettas. Design Details The Breda 30 is a machine gun operated via a locked-breech, short recoil operation (so short that some sources incorrectly identify it as blowback operated) and fires from a closed bolt. The Modello 30's magazine feed lips are machined into the gun itself, and the magazine is permanently attached to the right-hand side of the receiver. This hinges open towards the front of the weapon for loading, being loaded through the end that feeds into the gun. Loading was accomplished with a magazine-sized rectangular stripper clip with a handle at the base. Spent casings are ejected down and to the left through a port with a manually operated sliding dust cover. Design Faults *The design was overly complex and required extensive hand-finishing, increasing both production time and per-unit cost. *The locked-breech, short recoil operating system led to severe extraction issues; an oiler was incorporated into the feed cover in an attempt to mitigate them, but oiling cartridges caused detritus to stick to the cartridge. This, combined with underpowered and unreliable ammunition, led to constant stoppages, particularly in the sandy conditions of North Africa. *The closed bolt operation caused significant heat buildup problems, making the weapon prone to spontaneous heat ignition ("cook-off") after any remotely protected period of firing. *Opening the hinged magazine when it is not empty will leave 2-3 rounds loose in the side of the gun. Unlike the top-loading Madsen machine gun where this worked to the weapon's benefit, in the side-loading Modello 30 these simply got in the way of loading. *Like the Chauchat (also noted for its poor design), a viewing window is cut into the top of the magazine, which allowed even more dirt and foreign bodies to enter the action. *The cumbersome loading method dropped the weapon's practical rate of fire to 150 rpm even under perfectly ideal conditions: under combat conditions, the weapon was often slower to operate than a semi-automatic rifle. *The Breda 30 was inaccurate, as the badly designed barrel change system did not securely retain the barrel. *The Modello 30 stripper clips were remarkably easy to bend to the point they would no longer fit in the magazine. *Forgetting to open the dust cover before firing will result in an instant jam. References *Breda 30 Category:Light machine guns